Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 103
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Crack! Crunch!
Yeon-woo brought the Axe down twice in quick succession, then exhaled and sank to the ground.
Sweat beaded on the young girl’s brow, trickling down her cheeks.
She gazed near the Strange Bird’s legs.
Whether wood or vine, something coiled around the creature’s limbs, binding tight.
– Even two more blows won’t bring it down now.
Yeon-woo turned sharply to face the Strange Bird, nodding in acknowledgment.
“Yeah. Thanks to the herbs mother gave us.”
While in the nest, Yeon-woo had eaten whatever food the Strange Bird and the small creature brought back.
Along with that care, the Strange Bird had given her Spirit Herbs.
Not many in number, and all of them relatively fresh, but taken together, they amounted to roughly what one would gain from a Lower-grade Demon Spirit Pill.
By nature, Spirit Herbs become poison if consumed without proper preparation.
Knowing this, when she first handed them over, she’d instructed Yeon-woo not to eat them right away, to save them for later.
‘But the child ate them before the words were even finished.’
The memory made her dizzy all over again.
The terror that the child might fall into demonic possession, her wings fluttering in alarm.
And yet.
The girl who’d chewed through those herbs recklessly stood perfectly unharmed.
More than unharmed, even.
Without practicing Qi Circulation, the herb’s essence had seeped wholly into the child’s dantian.
The sight had been so impossible that her beak had fallen open unbidden.
Since then, the Strange Bird had brought her all manner of Spiritual Medicines to help Yeon-woo build her Inner Power.
The result: in the girl’s body, ten years’ worth of cultivation had accumulated, as though she’d consumed a Lower-grade Demon Spirit Pill.
Because of this, even swinging the Axe twice in succession no longer robbed her of consciousness.
And that was where they were now.
“It’s almost time, mother.”
The Strange Bird stared at the area near her own legs.
The Binding Spell, already tattered as the child had said.
– Yes. Truly, it is so.
In fact, the Binding Spell would soon vanish entirely.
If this Binding Spell truly disappears… if only it does… then perhaps she could leave Gwi-rim with the child….
The thought stirred something inside her—a rush of feeling she struggled to contain.
The Strange Bird clamped her beak shut, swallowing something down, then turned to look at the child.
– You are truly a mysterious one. Even I, called a Spirit Creature, cannot fathom your depths. This Binding Spell alone….
The Strange Bird looked down at the vine-thick tendril wound around her legs.
– None who do not fully understand death could ever hope to touch it.
“Death?”
– Yes.
The Strange Bird nodded.
– This sorcery is an ancient secret technique of the Gwi-hon Family. Because it has passed down through generations of the house, even the current family head can only maintain the technique—she cannot directly interfere with it.
In other words, not even Gwi-hon Majun himself can physically touch this Binding Spell.
– It is magic of such profound depth. For a young human like you, so far removed from death, understanding it should be impossible.
“I see.”
Yeon-woo nodded simply, as though it were nothing.
The Strange Bird could not tell what the child had actually understood in that nod.
She only watched the girl drift toward the food, her gaze soft and distant.
– I know not how to repay such kindness. You said you would become my chance encounter, yet you have become mine. Is there truly nothing you desire?
“Something I desire?”
Yeon-woo, reaching for a ripe piece of fruit, suddenly looked up, as if remembering something.
“Actually, there is one thing!”
– Then speak it freely.
“Um….”
Should I really… say this…?
– Go on.
“Your… the mother’s egg…?”
Yeon-woo’s face flushed with embarrassment at the question, and she deliberately looked away.
She desperately wanted the Strange Bird’s egg, that much hadn’t changed—but how could she say such a thing to mother’s face?
“No, wait…! I’m fine with either way…!”
– That wouldn’t be difficult.
Yeon-woo spun around to face the Strange Bird.
“Really? You can give me the egg?”
– Of course. Should I deny my savior what I give freely to the humans who’ve imprisoned me?
Yeon-woo’s face brightened rapidly.
Then, as if remembering something, she hesitated before asking again.
“But… if I’m going to eat it… is it okay with you, Mother Bird…?”
– I already know why humans desire my eggs. Moreover, laying an egg does not mean life dwells within it, so worry not.
“Really?! No life in it?!”
– That’s right.
At the child’s rapidly brightening expression, the Strange Bird let out a soft laugh.
– What humans want is merely the essence of demonic energy, not my offspring.
Had they been my true children, I would have protected them with my very life.
– I’ll give it to you when we leave this place.
“Yay!! Thank you, Mother Bird!!”
Yeon-woo bounced up and down with delight, giggling.
“Mother Bird really is so kind!!”
Sharing all this food with me, and bringing so much fragrant grass!
“I don’t understand why you’re called a Strange Bird at all!”
At the child’s laughter, the Strange Bird went rigid.
Now that she thought of it… how had she come to be called that?
How had it…
‘…happened that I became trapped in this place?’
* * *
“Child. Shall I tell you an amusing old tale?”
At the words spoken with a curved, twisted smile, Gu-yeong’s eyes beneath the Black Mask snapped shut.
“…Please don’t call me that. And…”
Don’t tell such nonsense tales while facing an enemy brimming with murderous intent…
Gu-yeong surveyed the opponent before him.
The Gwi-hon Majun and the warriors of the Gwi-hon Family. And behind them, a line of jiangshi.
‘All Blood Corpses…’
Blood Corpses were upper-grade entities among jiangshi, possessing a level of martial power incomparable to the lower-grade ones that had wandered Gwi-rim during the trial.
Ordinarily, jiangshi are molded from corpses, their hardened flesh limiting their mobility.
But Blood Corpses were different.
They were jiangshi that had been made to move like living men through Ghost Art, allowing blood to circulate through their bodies.
It was said that the martial power of a single Blood Corpse rivaled that of a first-rate Martial Artist.
And now, over a hundred such Blood Corpses stood arrayed before him.
‘The number of jiangshi is too great.’
Enemies bound by sorcery rather than talismans—they would neither die easily nor grow weary.
‘No matter how formidable the Shadow Army General may be…’
This was half the Gwi-hon Family’s military might brought to bear, was it not?
And with the Family Head himself present—four-fifths, perhaps.
This was nothing less than a demon army conflict…!
“Long, long ago, you see.”
“…!”
Gu-yeong turned to the Shadow Army General in astonishment.
His sole ally, continuing with an old tale even now.
“There was once a man who befriended a bird possessed of mysterious power.”
Shing—
The Shadow Army General lowered his sword into ready stance.
The Gwi-hon Majun standing across from him likewise took a martial posture.
“I need to examine the sorcery at work. Step aside. Otherwise, today you shall find yourself at war with the Gwi-hon Family.”
“That bird’s power was to drive away corrupted energy.”
“Do you truly intend to make the Gwi-hon Family your enemy?”
“The man asked the bird for a favor. I beg you, purify the lands I govern. I need a place where my wife and children can live.”
“Shadow Army General!”
Crunch—
Gwi-rim trembled.
The wrath of he who rules Gwi-rim shook the trees and undergrowth, the earth and the sky.
“…”
Gu-yeong remained vigilant, bracing himself for combat that could erupt at any moment.
His grip tightened on the spear shaft.
From within that taut, electric silence, Am-yeong Majun’s voice flowed forth like a melody.
“That bird willingly answered the human’s request. But do you know what happened next? What humans did to the very bird that built a home for its own kind?”
Am-yeong Majun’s head swiveled toward Gu-yeong.
In a moment where a blade could strike at any instant, he turned to look behind him rather than keep watch on his opponent—a reckless move.
Gu-yeong opened his mouth, confusion clouding his mind.
“…I don’t know.”
“They seized a moment when the bird’s strength waned, then bound it with a Binding Spell—a very potent one—stripping it of its freedom.”
“…!”
“They betrayed the bird’s trust.”
Now Gu-yeong could not fail to understand what Am-yeong Majun was speaking of.
The Strange Bird.
This was the story of Gwae-jo.
And he was not alone in grasping it.
“Well?”
Am-yeong Majun turned to face Gwi-hon Majun.
The corners of his mouth curved upward beneath the mask.
Yet the eyes within held not a trace of mirth.
Those violet pupils burned with a savage intensity as they fixed upon the enemy before him—Gwi-hon Majun.
“Ever heard of it?”
“….”
A killing intent wove itself through Gwi-hon Majun’s aura.
In that moment, he reached his decision.
All-out war against Am-yeong Majun.
“To stand in our way despite notification that the spell has failed—it is clear your intention is to spirit away Gwae-jo, the Gwi-hon Family’s most precious spirit creature.”
Screeeee—
Gwi-hon Majun leveled his sword toward Am-yeong Majun.
His lips pronounced the declaration.
“I cannot let you depart unscathed.”
“So you have heard of it, then? The way you’re trembling tells me so.”
“Attack!”
And at that very instant.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—
The earth began to shudder.
The Blood Corpses arrayed behind Gwi-hon Family surged forward as one toward Am-yeong Majun and Gu-yeong.
Gu-yeong swung his spear in a broad arc, while Am-yeong Majun drew his blade with graceful ease.
“Shameless lot.”
Splash—!
The Blood Corpses rushed at Am-yeong Majun without hesitation.
One came, then two, then three—his form was swallowed in an instant by the endless tide of Blood Corpses surging toward him.
And in the next breath, a dense, pitch-black aura bloomed forth from amid the seething mass.
Am-yeong Majun’s singular Demon Sword.
Manyeong Gwihwan.
Every shadow surrounding him began to turn in unison.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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